Ryder Cross, the latest country western rising star - is he real?

Most of the debate surrounding A.I. centers on people claiming A.I.'s work to supplement or even replace their own work. This of course is problem, particularly if such things are used as a basis to judge a person's performance, merit, or competence. But there's another, perhaps less discussed aspect, and that is the use of A.I. to create music and performers without anyone supplying any original work. A song completely made up by computers into a real-sounding band. The state of the art makes this possible, and it's truly astounding technology.

But it's troubling.

Ryder Cross has benefitted from this technology as the latest rising star in country music, with a Christian emphasis. First showing up sometime in March, he's heavily promoted on Youtube, Instagram, Apple music, Spotify, and Faceborg. He has the quintessential cowboy look and a great sound. Judging by the numbers, he achieved overnight success.

But he's A.I. And his songs are A.I. and I can prove it. 

I couldn't put my finger on it at first. It was somewhat obvious that the video (Actually, this particular song used a still picture) was fake. A.I. is getting better, but the details are still wrong, the lighting is odd, and the backgrounds are strange.

And often A.I. makes obvious mistakes, like these examples of precious animals:

A.I. doesn't really "think," so it doesn't recognize (at least at present) obvious visual incongruities.

But in Ryder Cross' case maybe he's a real guy and simply used an A.I. picture? Maybe he's genuine even though the picture is fake?

So, the music. The lyrics contain strange references and sometimes don't make real sense. A.I. seems to lean toward a facsimile where the sound of a word itself is the goal, as opposed to making something that has meaning and contains a discernible narrative. 

A.I. also doesn't know (at present) when to quit. It will go on and on even though there are three other song verses that said the same thing. We can see that in the song lyrics quoted below. Six (!!!) verses, all saying the same thing.

In addition, Ryder Cross has several songs posted on YouTube, and they are all basically the same. Same grinding beat, and all of them about the troubles of this life.

So decided to make an experiment. 

 

I subscribe to website called Suno, which utilizes A.I. to create music. I upload rough audio of my original songs and Suno accesses the universe of music across planet earth, creating a vocalist who sings my words and melody, a band that plays my chords, and an entire arrangement in the form of a completely produced recording. It's my song with an extraordinarily real-sounding band. 

It's been a jaw-dropping experience, since I haven't even heard many of my songs. The output given to my old songs evoked an emotional response from me. I never thought I would ever hear them performed by a band. But not only do I get to hear them, Suno give me an amazing performance. 

You can listen to my best songs here.

With Ryder Cross in mind, I wanted to see want Suno could do. Since Suno has the capability to create a song from scratch with no original material, I gave it some instructions. I told it to create a song with a heavy beat, a slow country song about tough times, sung by a gravelly male cowboy singer. I didn't give it any audio, I gave it no lyrics and no melody. Just these bare instructions.

Here's what Suno created for me. It's actually kind of cool. It has that same working-on-the-railroad beat as Ryder Cross, it sounds weighty and profound, and the voice Suno selected is bang on. It sounds like a real song. 

Now let's listen to a Ryder Cross song, God Help Me Stand. This almost scared me it's so eerie. The singer is exactly the same as Ryder Cross. Exactly. The style matches perfectly. The structure, the subject matter, all are the the same. 

My fake song matches Ryder Cross. Exactly.   

Ryder Cross' pictures and videos are fake, and he himself is fake, invented by someone too lazy or not skilled enough to write their own songs. He was probably invented with the hopes of fooling people into parting with their money. He's the musical version of a bait and switch scam.

And sadly, many Christians are simply gullible.

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Here's Ryder Cross' verbose lyrics to God, Help Me Stand:

[Verse 1] Sun came up, I put my boots on
Same old weight I've been walkin' on
Same four walls, same worn-out ache
Same hard smile I know how to fake

[Verse 2] I've been tryin' not to let it show
How low a man can really go
Holdin' on with both cracked hands
Just hopin' I don't slip again

[Verse 3] I ain't askin' for an easy road
I know every hurt won't let go
But right here in this brokenness
Lord, this is all I've got left

[Chorus] God, help me stand

When I ain't the man I say I am
When the night runs long and the hurt runs deep
And I've got nothin' left in me
God, help me stand
When my whole world's slippin' through my hands
I can't hold this weight the way I planned
God, help me stand

[Verse 4] Folks say time can heal a soul
But time's done left some empty holes
There's some nights I still break down
Soon as there ain't nobody around

[Verse 5] I've got things I don't know how to name
Old scars and fresh new pain
And I've done my best to play it strong
But, Lord, I've been barely hangin' on

[Verse 6] I ain't sayin' take this all away
Just get me through another day
'Cause faith gets thin when the dark sets in
And I need Your strength again

[Chorus] God, help me stand
When I ain't the man I say I am
When the night runs long and the hurt runs deep
And I've got nothin' left in me
God, help me stand
When my whole world's slippin' through my hands
I can't hold this weight the way I planned
God, help me stand

[Brdige] If I bend, don't let me break
If I fall, don't turn away
I'm down to one last honest prayer
And You're the only reason I'm still here

So when my strength is at the end
Be my hope again
Be my hope again
God, help me stand

**********************

And for my Suno song:

[Verse 1] Dust on the dashboard, rust on the frame 

The bank keeps calling, but they got the wrong name 

Wind through the wire on a forty-mile stretch 

Working for a nickel that you never can catch 

[Chorus] And the diesel burns heavy on a midnight run 

Chasing the shadow of a setting sun 

When the well goes dry and the pocket is thin 

You just bite down hard and you ride it again 

[Verse 2] Boots worn down to the bare white hide 

Nowhere to run and there’s nowhere to hide 

The ridge looks steep in the pale blue dawn 

Long way to go before the night is gone 

[Chorus] And the diesel burns heavy on a midnight run 

Chasing the shadow of a setting sun 

When the well goes dry and the pocket is thin 

You just bite down hard and you ride it again 

[Bridge] They say what don’t kill you just makes you a ghost 

Living on the edge of what hurts you the most 

Staring at the dirt where the crops never grew 

With nothing left to lose and nothing left to do 

Chorus] And the diesel burns heavy on a midnight run 

Chasing the shadow of a setting sun 

When the well goes dry and the pocket is thin 

You just bite down hard and you ride it again 

[Outro] Just ride it again Yeah, ride it again Fade to dust